Blogging the trial of those accused of committing the Madrid train bombings on March 11th 2004. In the process examining the lies, media manipulation and conspiracy theories surrounding these events.

Friday, November 09, 2007

Hechos Probados....The Discovery Of The Renault Kangoo

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on the day of the bombings, the caretaker of a building situated at number 5 in the street Infantado in Alcalá de Henares reported to the president of the community of owners of the building his sighting at around 7 a.m. of three individuals getting out of a white Renault Kangoo van located about 100 metres from the railway station. The president in turn informed the police. After speaking to the caretaker, the police cordoned off the vehicle and evacuated nearby buildings. At approximately 11 a.m. police specialists in terrorism arrived at the scene and made an initial visual inspection of the vehicle with the aim of detecting the possible presence of a bomb. No visible signs of any device were seen. Also sent to the scene were police dog handlers whose dogs were trained to detect explosives. An external inspection with the dogs produced no results, so the back door van was opened and one of the animals was introduced inside – again with negative results.

Having established that the van could be moved without danger, orders were received to take it to the headquarters of the forensic police in the district of Canillas in Madrid. The van arrived at Canillas at around 15:30 and was inspected there by police officers. During this inspection the officers found beneath the front seat on the right hand side, a blue rubbish bag containing seven industrial detonators and the tip of a dynamite cartridge. Two of the detonators contained a label identifying them as having been made in Spain by UEB. All of the detonators were made by the company Unión Española-Ensing Bickford, and were identical to those later found in the unexploded device deactivated in Azorín park, and those discovered amongst the wreckage of the Leganés apartment.

Other articles found in the van included a cassette tape with Arabic script. Genetic traces and fingerprint evidence was recovered from the van.

Footnote: The importance of the Renault Kangoo was that it was the first discovery of clues leading to the perpetrators of the bombings, and also because of the cassette discovered it was the first sign of possible Islamist responsibility. The detonators found in the van provided crucial evidence on the origin of the explosives used in the bombs. Because of this the conspiracy theorists have constantly attempted to suggest that the van was filled with phony evidence by police officers involved in the great conspiracy. Not surprisingly, the court has not taken this suggestion very seriously. The van has been accepted as being one of the vehicles used by the bombers.